Orangevale, California

Welcome to Orangevale, California, 95662

Alexis Wilke, Realtor®, has lived in Orangevale for more than 10 years. He knows the Rollingwoods area very well, on the Orangevale and the Fair Oaks sides. Beautiful rolling hills cut by water that formed many canyons with views over Natoma Lake and the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Whether you are looking for a home, an equestrian center, or a farm, he’s the best real estate agent to talk to once you are ready to move to Orangevale, California.

Nature

He lives close to the American River and Lake Natoma where there are two large bars: the Mississippi and Negro Bars. Also we can encounter rattle snakes along the river edges, they are rare enough encounters that the area is quite safe.

The other wild life around here are Wild Turkeys, Skunks, Squirrels, Quails, Deer, Crocodile Lizards, Badgers, Racoon, Frogs, Toads, Gofer Snakes, Woodpeckers, and many more that I just cannot list here.

Also every few years we hear of a mountain lion sighting, it is pretty rare. That being said, one of our friends had their stray cat eaten (once in 10 years, though, a rather rare event.)

(click to enlarge)

When you enjoy the American River path, you may at times see some peacocks. These birds venture to homes next to the bluff and trails. Obviously, these are not a native species. Yet, those individuals are wild peacocks. People do give them seeds to eat and this is why they come close to the homes by the river. The reason they are here is that a while back there was a large farm (about six acres) on Sunset that would breed these peacocks. Some escaped or maybe the owner released them when he closed doors. In any event, these majestic birds make for beautiful displays in spring. Their population has been decreasing, but we still see young ones once in a while.

To see Peacocks, you may also go visit Folsom Zoo. They have a few couples there. Look for them in the park next door, the trees, and the top of the animal cages…

About Businesses in Orangevale

Orangevale also has quite a few good Restaurants such as Blue Nami, La Placita, Kolbeh Kabob, and O’Connor Wood Fire Grill & Bar to cite just a few.

Further North, the Orangevale Park is the home of a large play area, a soccer field, woods around a creek, a Community Center, and an open public swimming pool open many months of the year.

We also have a Walmart. Some people are not particularly happy about it, but it certainly is not a bad addition. It gives some job opportunities we did not have before and it helps some of the less fortunate who live around here to get food and other supplies at a low price.

For local news, we have the Orangevale View newspaper. It is distributed at your doorstep for free. For businesses, it is an opportunity to include advertising for their special offers.

The Orangevale Chamber of Commerce represents the small businesses of the area. It also elects a Honorary Maire to represent Orangevale, which is otherwise represented by Sacramento.

Orangevale Grange #354

The Orangevale Grange with Christmas Lights

Orangevale has Grange No. 354 at 5807 Walnut Avenue just North of Madison.

This is a spacious hall one can rent for birthdays, weddings, and other receptions. They serve pancakes on the 2nd Sunday morning of each month.

The Grange is the oldest organization helping US farmers. The association was started after the Civil War. It looked for private individuals who could help improve the position of farmers in their area. The help came with finance and various social programs.

Today the association helps their existing surrounding communities, not just farmers. This includes all kinds of individuals who are in need of economic improvements, education, family endeavor, etc. The association often helps with establishing good/better legislation or tries to prevent what it sees as detrimental legislation.

The one in Orangevale is number 354 of 3,600 established community halls in 37 states.

The Grange accepts new members as Associates or Full Grange Members.

Orangevale Christmas Lights

You’re around Sacramento in December? You have to come to Orangevale and see our Christmas Lights on Dovewood Court (the entire court participates!) These are private homes where each resident puts up a large display of Christmas lights each year since the 1980s.

It really has many lights, small and large Christmas figures such as Santa (an actual Santa comes by a few times, check for his schedule!), Snowmen, Rodolph The Reine Deer, The Grinch, The Gingerbread Man…

There are small boxes with the nativity and other Christmas decors (Carry Christmas in a box!) There is music. A bell. Did I mention? Lights!

If going on a Friday or Saturday night, expects a lot of traffic. Note that you should not plan to drive on Dovewood Court itself. Traffic is extremely slow, even on Walnut, even for the few who drive through since there are so many pedestrians. Also I think you’ll better enjoy the displays while walking around. You can get closer and at the right height. In a car, you’ll be too low.

To park your car, I suggest you go South of Madison, on Pershing, Walnut, Twin Lakes, Blue Oaks… Pershing on the other side is not as practical. There are service businesses around Pershing and Madison that probably won’t mind if you use their parking lot later at night (after 6pm), but those are clearly marked as private property. Park there at your own risk!

The displays are at full capacity from 5pm until 10pm. Please consider leaving the street by 10pm. It is still a private area and people living here like to get their sleep.

There is a Google Map for directions:

Education

The public schools in Orangevale are part of the San Juan United School District.

The following lists the schools by grades and alphabetical. Please, make are to contact them to confirm whether they still are opened and the exact grades they offer. Some preschools start sooner and some school do not follow the usual Elementary/Middle/High school grades.

Remember that enrollments, in some cases, has to happen nearly one year before the student attends the school.

Middle Schools (6th and 8th Grades)

High Schools (9th to 12th Grades)

Note that Bella Vista HS is actually in Fair Oaks, although many Orangevale students living in the South part of Orangevale often go there. Both schools offer different opportunities so often student choose one or the other depending on their choice of classes that they want to follow.

Colleges

Orangevale Transportation

By Car / Motorbike

Interstate highways 80 deserves Orangevale from the West at the Madison Avenue or Greenback Lane and from the North by Sierra College, which becomes Hazel when you cross from Placer County to Sacramento County (by West Ranch Drive).

Interstate highway 50 deserves Orangevale from the South at the start of Hazel Avenue in Folsom.

By Public Transportation

Bus Line 24 (MADISON / GREENBACK) runs between Orangevale and Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights from Monday to Friday. It goes East on Madison and West on Greenback.

Bus Line 109 (HAZEL EXPRESS) that goes from Orangevale directly to Sacramento Downtown in the morning, via Interstate Highway 50. It comes back in the afternoon on the reverse route. Note that there are only two buses in the morning and two in the afternoon. Make sure to be on time to catch the bus. There are a total of four stations along Hazel and four Downtown.

Folsom Stage Lines Route 10 offers a bus between Orangevale and Folsom, especially, it is possible to ride that bus to go take the Light Rail Train from Folsom to Downtown and many other destinations with a change or two. Route 10 runs from Monday to Friday.

The Folsom Light Rail Train (Gold Line) goes all the way to the Amtrack train station in Old Town Sacramento. It is easily accessible by car, by bus, by bicycle, and on foot (although it’s a little bit of a walk on foot…) Fairs are partially paid by a Federal Government grant. For that reason it is quite reasonable between $1.35 and $2.75 in 2017. Often employers offer to pay for these fairs. Don’t hesitate to ask!

By Bicycle

The Orangevale area has many bike lanes along its main roads.

There are bike trails along Lake Natoma. There is a paved access down Main Avenue by Winding Oak Drive. All the way at the bottom of Main Avenue, there is a gravel trail, not practical for a road bike, but it is a much shorter way to the Hazel bridge.

Another access, going down Greenback Lane toward Folsom, turn right to Negro Bar. It is not practical when exiting if you want to turn left (back toward Orangevale) as you have to cross to 50 mph without any stop signs or lights. You can stay on the left side of the road, though.

Remember that many bike trails by the river and lakes are also expected to flood whenever a lot of rain comes down. It is always recommended that you avoid them during heavy rain periods.

Orangevale is the home of Olympic Gold and Silver Medals

Mary Rebecca Whippie is the coxwain for the U.S. women’s rowing that won the Gold Medal in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics and a Silver Medal in the 2004 Olympics.

Orangevale, home of Devin Dawson, the country music singer

Devin is an American country music singer-songwriter. Devin first became famous after filming a mashup of Taylor Swift songs. The mashup was uploaded on YouTube and gain quite some traction.

His first single was the hit song All on Me that came out in 2017.

Police Force

The census designated area of Orangevale is part of the Sacramento County and the Sacramento Police provides law enforcement for the entire area.

In case of Emergency call 911 or 916 874 5111

For Non-Emergency call 916 874 5115

If you problems hearing or talking call 916 874 7128 (TDD)

To report a crime in public transportation (buses,) you can contact the Regional Transit Police Service at 916 556 0275, you can also text to 67283 and start your text message with “sacrt”.

Orangevale Statistics

Area: 11.646 square miles (30.165 km2) of which 1.13% (0.131 sqmi) is water (American River and streams)

Elevation: 240 ft (73 m)

Population: 33,960 (Census 2010)

Density: 2,900/square mile (1,100/km2)

Zip Code: 95662

History of Orangevale, California

Orangevale is now a census designated place in the Sacramento County. In other words, it is part of the City of Sacramento, but it kept it’s original name for various reasons, one being the US census. It has its own zip code, 95662, and we have an Honorary Maire. Orangevale had 33,960 inhabitants on 2010.

It was not always like that.

Originally, the name was The Orange Vale Colony. A community created in 1844 as part of the Rancho San Juan Mexican Land Grant. For a long time the area was rural and the home of numerous orange groves.

Some of the orchards had olives, some of which are still visible along various avenues (Main, Chestnut, Orangevale, Walnut.) However,, more and more of the farm land is being converted to tracts where new homes get built.

Oak trees were common in the whole area. There are remnants of the original trees in various Orangevale Parks.

The area was inhabited by natives called the Maidu. These people had many trails in the region, including in and around Orangevale. There are grinding rocks in Folsom, at the Folsom Power House and the Folsom Zoo Sanctuary. Many other remains can be seen at the State Indian Museum, next to the Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park downtown Sacramento.

Special thank you for reading our page from Diverse Realty, Real Estate in 95662.

I was raised in Sacramento, CA & I have seen many changes & positive growth over the years.
Licensed in 1989 I began my real estate career in the new home sales arena. Of course since then, I've worked in re-sale & commercial real estate.
A few hobbies I enjoy are fishing, art, music, swimming, gardening & cooking.
Agents used to tell clients what is available, now clients tell agents when they see something new. They access this from the Internet. My job is to help you understand that info.
My passion is assisting both buyers and sellers in the Sacramento region to fulfill their real estate goals.